Filling-replenishing mechanism for looms.



UNiTnn ATENT .FFCE

EDWARD s. sTrMPsoN, or HOPED'ALE, MASSACHUSETTS, AssieNoR To THE` DBAPER ooMPANY, on sAMn 4PitAcn AND PonTLAND, MAINE.

FiLLanG-aemsnismne Mecs-Anissa Fon rectas SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters satema No. 664,790, dated December' 2'5, 1900. Application filed September 22, 1900. Serial No. 30,740. (No model.)

To "0l/ZZ whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, EDWARD S. STrMPsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hopedale, county of l/Vorcester, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Automatic liilling-Repleuishing Mechanism for Looms, of which the following description, in connection With the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates more particularly to automatic filling-replenishing mechanism for looms for weaving,\vhe1eby a fresh supply of filling is automatically transferred from a magazine, hopper, o r feeder to the loom when the supply of filling has been exhausted,either entirely'or to a certain extent, or when the filling is broken, the replenishing of the filling taking place at such time Without any attention on the part of the attendant. In one Well-known type of mechanism of this character/ the feeder is circularly movable and is adapted to hold a series. of filling-carriers, such as bobbins, the latter by intermittent movement of the feeder being brought one by one into operative position to be transferred to the shuttle, as in United States Patent No. 529,9M), dated November '27, 1894. The principal duty of the Weaver when attending such automatic looms is to keep the feeder supplied with filling-carriers,and the larger the feeder the greater the number of Y looms which can be run by the Weaver; but

prior to my present invention the weight of a large feeder and the load carried thereby has made it inadvisable to provide'a feeder of the greater capacity.

In the patent herelnbefore,referred to the feeder is moved by the partial unwinding of a strong spring automatically rewound after each transfer and the filling-carrier had to .be transferred against the stress of the spring,v

a fixed stop positioningthe feeder by engaging the next filling-carrier of the seriesI after one had been transferred, both of these features subjeciing the fillinglcarriers tosti-ain', which it is desirable'toavoid.

'In a la'ter patent, No. 651,715, dated ,In-ne l l2, 190i), thestroiigspring for actuating the feeder is Y eliminated andv the -movement of the feederlis effected by or througl the transferrer, a fixed dog on Vthe latter coperating with a ratchet-wheel movable with the feeder to complete its movement, the initial move. ment of the feeder after transfer of a fillingcarrier being effected by a light spring and also to a greater or less extent by the eccentricity of the load 'carried by the feeder.

In my present invention i have eliminated the strong spring utilized in the earlier pat-y ent and also the light spring'employed in the later patent, While the feeder is positively moved to bring`.into operative position the filling-carrier next to be transferred.

In my present invention the filling-carrier next tol be transferred rests against a fixed stop and the feeding movement of the feeder is controlled by or through the transferrer, but in such a manner that should one or more filling-carriers be missing for any reason the.

next filling-carrier which is in the feeder will be brought into operative position, and while the action of gravity may tend in this invention to eect movement of the feeder it is not relied upon to effect such function. Inasmuch as there is no strong spring hereinemployed, the im pact of the end most filling-car rier against the fixed stop 'is very light and has no tendency to break or damage the filling-carrier, the mechanism of the apparatus is greatly simplified, the capacity ofthe feeder very muchincreased, and the operation of the whole rendered more accurate, smooth, and efficient.

Figure l of the drawings represents a transverse section of a sufficient portion of a loom to be understood, with my present invention embodied therein, the section being taken transversely to the axis of and between the end plates or disks which substantially compose the feeder; and Fig. 2 is a perspectivel detail to be referred to.v

The frame A of the loom, the layAS, slotted at il), below oneof the shuttle-boxes, and

the bunter C2, mounted rigidly on thelay, are

of well-known construction, the slot lO per ,ing constructed and arranged to autorn'xatic'-l :ally threaditself when the fresh'filling-carrieris transferred thereto.

and place the filling-carriers one by one in the transferrer whether or not The be transferred is yield the path of there be any additional gravity action. filling-carrier next to ingly supportedV and guided on the side opposite to the stop h by means or buffer, shown as a flat finger m with a hub the said finger being located adjacent the inner face of the disk c' of the feeder and op- A secondnger m2 on the straddles the stand 2, wherein the device is shown separately,) a pin 300 passing through the hub m and the stand into the face of the finger m2 to pivotallysupport the cushioning Y (see dotted .lines in the held between anoiched lug on the back of the stand-aud the head 41 of a slide-rod 42, connected with the linger ing device on a swinging plate mx, provided posite the stop h. plate mX is upheld and A7, (see Fig.

device, a spring 52 drawings) being fnt'the' rod being guided inL the notched lug. The stop h' forms one side of a-throat thro ugh which the filling-carrier passes tothe shuttle,

supports and passes into the shuttle'.

The attendant may at times have neglected to insert the'filling-carriers consecutively in the feeder, so that one or more are absent, and in such case when the transfer of the filling-carriers takes place next such a space the feeder must move through a greater arc in order to bring the next filling-carrier The traDerrer rises and the impulse thereby given to the feeder through thev medium of the dog and' ratchet-wheel, as herein before described, will' be'suificient to effect iis advance movement `until the next filling-carrier engages tifs stop h, the detent-pawl e25 at once falling into place to' prevent retrograde movement of the into operative position. quickly,

feeder.

The transfer of a filling-carrier from-the feeder to the loom is effected when a change in the condition ofthe filling in use occurs--- such, for instance, as its exhaustion,entirely` or to a predetermined extent, o r the breakage of the tilliugand wheny such a change occursa rock-shaft d' is rocked in the direc- Ation of the arrow 65, the rock-shaft having which is depressed A sh utle-feeler 'yX is pivoted is provided with a lug y',on which the rocher-arm ZX is held by the springt?, the shut'tl'L-feeler being provided A headed rockerstud ym12 is mounted on the downturned end 'f3 of the transferrer, and by a spring (not herein shown) the stud is normally turned n the direction of the arrow 12, an arm m, se-

fast upon it an arm (ZX, by a spring r7.3. onvthe frame at y and with a rigid branch y2.

cured Ito the' stud, having a lateral lug Ain,

of a cushionof the vbunter C2 on the lay when a-change of filling is to be effected. A

Normally when the loom is at work the tendency oi" the arm m13 to rise is restricted and overcome by the more powerful spring d3, owing to the lug m14 on the arm 'm15 bearing against the arm y2 of the feeler, and the upward movement of the feeler yX is resisted hy its arm y bearing against the rocker-arm (ZX, which, it will be remembered, is normally held down by the spring cl3.

Nif'hen a change of filling is to be effected, the shaft d is rocked in the direction of the arrow 65, lifting the rocker-arm (1X, and therebyfpermitting'the stud m12 to turn and raise the notched end of the dog m15 into position to be engaged by the bunter C2 as the lay beats up, the transferrer being. thereby depressed to .transfer the filling-carrier. This same upward movement of the dog m15 acting' through the lug m1? upon the arm y2 lcauses the shuttle-feeleryX to move upwardly and rearwardly to encounter the end of the shuttle in case it is not properly boxed. If the sh uttle is not in the proper position within the shuttle-box to receive a fresh filling-carthe path of the bunter G2 is prevented, owing to the feeler encountering the shuttle, and no change of filling tal-:es place, and the loom may be so organized as to then stop automatically to permit the removal of the cause which Vled to the imperfect' movement of the shuttle-such, for instance, as in United States Patent No. 529,943, dated November so organized that the loom will be stopped automatically whenthe shuttle-feeler has detected the im proper positioning of the shuttle. In United States Patent No. 628,228, dated shown corresponds more nearly in its general construction and arrangement to the shuttlefeeler herein illustrated and described. If, however, the shuttle is properly boxed, the feelerfl/2 completes its upward movement, and

a change of llingis eected.

The shuttle-feeler and the connections betrolling the movement of the latter herein tion; but I have herein illust-rated them and briefly described their operation. to render more clear the cooperation of 111e various parts of the mechanism.

ing'movement of the feeder vand ,to the great accuracy with which they filling-,carriers are inserted in the shuttle, thebufferaiding very rier from afeeder, the rise of the dog m15 into.

27, 18M-the structure therein shown being,

July 4, 1899, the form of shuttle-feeler therein tween,V it and the dog mx5 and the devices con-Y ly the general construction and arrange-v shown and described arenot of my inven-Y l due to the quiet and easy yet positive feedagainst. which the branch y2. rests, and a greatly in lhe accurate positioning of the illnotched dog m15 is .adjust-'ably secured tothe arm' mm, the dog being movable into the path ing-carrier in the shuttle. Agaim'the number of parts of themechanism f0.1' replenishing the filling has been reduced, simplifying the construction and operation, and by providing for a positive quiet feeding movement (if the feeder a much greater number of iilling-carriers can be mounted therein as a reserve supply, requiring attention for renewal less frequently and enabling one operative to attend a greater number of looms, with eonsequent gain in output per operative.

As herein shown, the feeder has twentyeight filling-carrier holders which allow it, if loaded to its maximum capacity, to carry twenty-four filling-carriers at once, whereas in power-looms of this type it has not heretofore been usual or practical to have the feeders carry more than fifteen filling-car- .riers at one time.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

l. A rotatable filling-feeder to hold a eireularly-arranged series of filling-carriers, a transferrer, and means including a member movable with and also relatively to the transferrer, to move the feeder positively and intermittingly and place the filling-carriers one by one in position to be transferred.

2. A movable filling-feeder to hold a'series of filling-carriers, a transferrer to move the feederpositively and intermittingly and place the iilling-carriers one by one in position to be transferred, means tbiormally prevent movement of the feeder, and a starting device controlled by or through the transferrer to overcome the inertia of the feeder when free to move aftera transfer has taken place.

3. A movable filling-feeder to hold a series of filling-carriers, a transferrer, a dog movably mounted thereon, and a toothed member movable with the feeder and engaged by vthe dog when the transferrer returns to normal position to positively overcome the inertia of and to move the feeder to bring into operative position the next filling-carrier to be transferred.

l. A rotatable filling-feeder adapted to hold a series 'of cireularly-arranged lling-earriers, araLchet-wheel rotatable therewith, a transferrer, a dog,r thereupon to coperate with the ratchet-wheel, a detent to prevent retrograde movement of the feeder, operation of the transferrer advancing the dog upon the ratchet-wheel, return of the transferl-'er to normal position acting through the dog to overcome the inertia ot' and move the feeder forward until the illing-earrier next to be transferred is in the path ofthe transfert-er, and a stop independent of the transterrer to engage such filling-carrier and terminate feeding movement of the feeder.

5. A rotatable filling-feeder adapted to hold a series of lilling-carriers, a. ratchet-wheel movable therewith and notched to correspond to the position of the filling-carriers, a transferrer, a dog carried therebyto enter a notch of the ratchet-wheel and effect feeding movement ofthe feeder when the .transferrer is transfert-er to stop the feeding movement when such filling -carrier is properly positioned.

step-by-step rotatable holder adapted l to contain a plurality of iilling-suppliema transferrer to remove the filling-supplies one after another, and means controlled by-movement of the transferrer to eommencerand to.V continue the rotation of the holderaftertrans' Y' fer of a filling-carrier therefrom.

7. A movable filling-feeder to hold aseries of filling-carriers, a transferrer to engage and remove the latter one' by one, means controlled by the transferrer to positively andV intermittingly effect feeding movementof the feeder, and means independent of the transferrer to'stop the feeding movement. f 'Y 8. A movable holder to support a seriesof Y filling-supplies, a transferrer, and means, in-Q cluding a member movable with the transferrer, to overcome the inertia of and to there# after effect a step-by-step movement of the holder and thereby present the lling-sup plies one after another' to the action of transferrer.

9. -A rotatable holder adapted to containa Vplurality of iillingsupplies, a transferrer toi remove the latter singly from the holder, means controlled by the transfer-rer to moveY the holder through a variable arc of sufficientV amplitud-e to bring into position the next tillthe ing-supply to be transferred, and means ini dependent of the transferrer to stop suchV "movement of the holder when the iillinghsup ply next to be transferred is in operativepo;V sition.

l0. A rotatable .filling-feeder adaptedY to hold a cire ula rly-arranged series of filling-ear-V riers with their resultant weight at one side of Y l its axis, a transferrer movable at the opposite' side of such axis to engage and removeY one 'Y by one the filling-carriers as they are brought into. operative position by movement of the Y, feeder, means controlled bythe transferrervVV Y and operatingr in conjunction with gravity to overcome the inert-ia of and edect feeding movement of the feeder,l and means independent of the transferrer to stop such movement when the filling-carrier next to be transferred is in the path of the transferrer. 'Y

l1. A movable filling-feederto'holdaseries Y of idling-carriers, a transfer-rer, and means, including a member movable with and also relatively to the transferrer, to moveV the; feeder positively and intermittingly, operai tion of the transferrer acting to position saidV member preparatory to feed movement, slib-' V sequent retraction of the transferreractinv' through the said member to positively mov the feeder and place the filling-carrier next to be transferred into the path of the feeder.

12. -A movable filling-feeder to holda series of filling-carriers, an attached ratchet-Wheel,

a transferrer, a dog fulcrumed thereon and 'Y LVI.

tml to le omi/omen@ of me le Y xi: upon .aeiliop el' the ti'ansieriez, to thereby bring ille next' Afllliinfij-Carrier luto posileloii to be iiausfeire(l, opel-olive movemeni: ol l-he twinseirei positioning the dog relatively Uo the iateliet-wlieel, :mil mi independent stopping device lo lei'mimiie the feeding movement of the feeder.

13. A movable filling-feeder toliold a sei-les oi filling-carriers, im nth/Lelie@ ratchet-wheel, o trzfmsfeii'er, a (log pivotilly mounted neieon mulmlapted lo cooperate with lille ratchetwlie'el, the do; moving velo-Lively to the transferl'ez' Wllenlieliitler opeiates, end means aio move ille flog ieimisou with the nrmisfem-ei upon ieii'netiou of the latliei, to eleel feed of Llie feeder at suela time and bring the l'illingouvrier next lo oe ti'zinsfeixed into "elle path el' the irmisfei'rel'.

14. Filling l'eplenisliing meoliaiiism for looms, compi" ings; i iotnliaole eeei io lxoll elv Sexies of lllng-Qmi'iem, e iateliet-V-Jliee movable willi alle feeder, e cle/Leut to prevent ver ogrmle moverme-t; the latter, and a Stop lo eng; je the le Ging' lilling-cmier of Elie Series, alle ile-item nml slop no1-molly coperniing lo hold the feeder at rest, combined willi yposltiwly move looms, eomprfiing e i'otateble fee( sind clog oleiumeil thereon um dep wheel when the is i'emet-erl, to lie feeder foiWai-d and bring transferred into :md against lflie the filling-e1 'ier nexite "oe the path of the transfeiier slop.

l5. Filling repleuisliing mechanism for to hold a Series ol filling-familiers, a ratchet-wheel movable willi the lee/ller, :n Li'emsfeil'ei, :a (log plotefl tlieieon and adapted lio ride-freely over lie ratelieewlieel Ween the tizmsfeirer operates, :i pi'ojeehiozi ou the Lx'misleirei to lifa llie flog with elle transferia' when the latte? is i-eiufuftell, to rlieiely engage the ratchet of 'feed movement.

lo testimony whereof l have signed my name so Voie specification in the presence of two fvzi'aeseriliugr wi" 4esses.

El) WARE o. STHPBON.

io eopeielve with the ralelieu 

